So, it was about time. It was very nice seeing my friend again. And this time another good friend of mine, also hiker and trail runner, joined us and introduced me to Sitton Peak via Bear Canyon Trail.

Its trailhead is located on the opposite side of the Ortega Highway, nearby Ortega Oaks Candy Store and Goods, aka the candy store, to hikers. We parked our vehicles in San Juan Loop Trailhead parking lot across the two-lane freeway from the candy store.

I put on my new Altra Lone Peak 2.5 trail running shoes to try out. I was quite thrilled about this opportunity of combining my passion for running and appreciation for nature.

Sitton Peak is only 3,273 feet high. And our hike/trail run had only 2,117 feet elevation gain, so naturally it is considered a beginner’s and semi-intermediate hike.

Bear Canyon Trail intersects with a few other trails along the way, and it offers many flat and wide open portions, which is just great for trail running. After some shaded parts of the mountain, we came to a wide open junction, which is where the trail meets Verdugo Truck Trail. From this point on, it is a bit of downhill, however, it also soon intersects with Sitton Peak Truck Trail.

When Sitton Canyon Trail reaches the elevation of about 2,820 feet, it veers off to the left. Instead of continuing on it, we got off the trail and started up the half-mile distance of steep uphill incline right before the arrival at the peak. It isn’t difficult but definitely demands full attention as far as one’s footing goes because it is quite slippery. Due to the erosion with sands and tiny stones, my Lone Peak didn’t have much of benefits from its traction.

The peak offers a 360-degree view of the surroundings, including as far as Mt. San Gorgonio, Mt. San Jacinto, and the Pacific Ocean and even Catalina Island, and as close as Santiago Peak, which is on the other side of the Ortega Freeway.

Speaking of Santiago Peak, hiking up Los Pinos Trail to the peak still remains on my bucket list.

After taking a quick snack-munching and electrolyte infused water drinking break, I pulled out my camera to take some landscape photos. Also, I didn’t forget to take a quick shot of the geodetic survey marker at Sitton Peak.

And after a few obligatory selfies, we hurried back down the trail, and this time it was mostly trail running. I felt that my new trail running shoes were great most of the time. However, its naturally bigger toe box may have given more room for my feet to stay just snug. I may have to put on an extra pair of socks.

It was my second trail run outing, and it was successful in spite of my tight hamstrings.

My left hamstring has gotten better over the past few months since last August, so I didn’t worry much about it, but my right hamstring is a new injury. It is very tight, and it was something that I had to keep an eye on while going up the steep incline although it didn’t cause any major problems on the trail.

It was time for foam roller massaging and more stretching.

How was your weekend training? Have you tried any trail running? Or is it also part of your marathon training regimen? How does the elevation gain help you perform better and faster while training marathon?

Like many, I have always loved hiking by the water. For instance, Topanga Canyon or Temescal Canyon is my go to trail for a short hike by the water here in Los Angeles. I must admit though that I haven’t hiked there much lately because I have moved onto longer and more strenuous hikes with high elevation gains, in and around San Gorgonio and San Jacinto mountains or the Sierra Nevada.

Heading down the rolling hills. Catalina Island is seen in a far distance.

It was great trail running with the ocean view for a change, and the blue sky with no clouds was a bliss.

Even before I started training for BQ, I was always tempted to give trail running a try.

Santiago Peak is quite prominent from the trailhead of Coastal Peak Park

Since hiking has been a big part of my life and that nature is where I am the happiest, I knew that trail running was something that I would enjoy. The combination of running and being in nature – trail running, what else could be better.

But my plan was simply qualify for Boston first, so I decided to dedicate my time solely to street running training.

Of course, no one tells me that I only can choose one or the other, or no one argues that doing one won’t benefit the other.

However, there’s always a factor that makes one different from the other – elevation gain and loss.

On the other hand, although trail runners get awarded for speed upon finishing a race, due to the aforementioned factor – elevation gain and loss, they simply cannot run as fast as marathoners do. Besides, endurance is the name of the game for ultra runners of, say, 50 miles, 100 miles or 200 miles than speed, as opposed to marathoners of 26.2 miles who have to work on both endurance (for its distance) and speed.

For instance, when Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi, won the 2014 Boston Marathon, his official time was 2:08:37. No fastest trail runners or ultra runners can run that fast in the street, let alone on the trail. Speed isn’t the requisite. Endurance is.

I’ll definitely enjoy both worlds of running. My BQ dream won’t go away, even if one day I may want to run a 50-mile race, like Kodiak Ultra Marathon.

Have you tried trail running? Have you considered doing ultra marathon? 50K, 50 miles and/or 100 miles? What in trail running attracts you most? Do you run half/full marathon as well as trail run races?

Rather reluctantly but admittedly, I quit training and immersed myself in the recovery mode. And it was a right thing to do.

For the following three weeks, I tried to concentrate on strength training. But the keyword here is tried. As the progress was not being made (although it had been only three weeks), the level of motivation plunged. Meantime, my knee pain worsened. I became numb about the whole process, which led me to the point where I simply stopped running.

For a whole month.

Don’t get me wrong. I still went to the gym 2-3 times a week, working on my core and legs. But with the motivation dismal in existence and the worsened knee pain, it was not easy to see the end of the tunnel from where I was.

It truly dampened my spirit.

It started to concern me with a question if I could actually achieve my goal that I set out to do in the beginning of the year – running 1,100 miles by the end of the year. I even celebrated my 500 mile mark here.

At this point, the last day of the year was still about 1 1/2 months out and I was only about 90 miles short of the goal, thanks to all the training that I did throughout summer, so achieving the goal didn’t look that bleak.

While pondering how I could start running again without worsening my knee pain, let alone avoiding any further injuries, I’ve noticed that my quadriceps were slowly getting stronger as I started incorporating more squat workouts and deadlifts. Also, I alternated my routine leg workouts with the following.

Lunge jump

Single-leg jump

Reverse run

Box jump

Toe tap

Skip

In the middle of all this, I moved to a new place. While lifting and carrying the boxes out of the apartment and to the truck, I noticed that slightly bending my knee upon my right foot’s landing minimized pain or no pain at all.

Then, the light bulb came on over my head.

What if I run like that till my knee is stronger.

Part of me was very cautious about it but I wanted to give it a try any way.

And it worked.

I was able to run 4 miles with my knee bent upon my foot pounding. Of course, I took my time. 8 plus min/mi pace. It was slow.

But it didn’t matter. What mattered was that I was happy being able to run again and that I was 4 miles closer to my goal.

And with that, I slowly added a few miles every 2-3 days.

On December 20, 2015 I achieved my goal for this year. And I am very proud of myself in accomplishing that goal.

Now that I can run, the inevitable question has arisen.

Do I want to run 1,100 miles or more in the new year?

I am not sure at the moment. And I am still recovering. My knee is not strong enough to go for longer distances, like 10 plus miles. It still hurts when my foot lands wrong way.

How are you coping with your current injuries if you have them? How did you recover from them if you did? Now that there is less than 4 days remaining to the end of the year, are you close to achieving your goal? What is your goal? Share your story with me. I want to hear how you overcame the setbacks.

Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/12/28/how-this-years-goal-was-successfully-accomplished/feed/1IMG_6853 smallhpeterjiphotography2015 total mileage, running goal, achieved, accomplished, 1100 miles,Recovery – Pulled Muscle, Muscle Relaxant, Pain Medication, 4.5 Mile Recovery Run and Cycling Classhttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/recovery-week-3-pulled-muscle-muscle-relaxant-pain-medication-and-4-5-mile-recovery-run-and-cycling-class-on-labor-day-weekend/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/recovery-week-3-pulled-muscle-muscle-relaxant-pain-medication-and-4-5-mile-recovery-run-and-cycling-class-on-labor-day-weekend/#commentsMon, 07 Sep 2015 02:49:28 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1998This past week was all about pain and excitement – dealing with the unexpected pulled back muscle, followed by a recovery run, and keeping up with cardio via cycling at the gym. More recovery runs are in order now, but I am definitely not rushing it.

The last Sunday I had an episode of acute back pain. Unlike the two previous episodes (right in the center of lower back), this time the pain came in only the left side of lower back. Especially when it came, I was not doing anything physical, so the only reason why I could think of was a bit of heavy cartons and equipment lifting during the company moving a few days prior.

I took some Iboprofen and leftover Baclofen from the previous episodes, but they didn’t seem to be working. In fact, it got worse the next day when I got up. Also, I couldn’t sleep well due to the pain at night either. So, I paid the doctor a visit for stronger painkiller. The doctor prescribed Naproxen, and I took it along with Baclofen twice a day.

To my surprise, healing took longer. Almost 4 days.

But as painful as it was, by Friday afternoon, I was back pain free.

And to celebrate it, it seemed also logical to test how my left leg (with shin splint) and right foot (with plantar fasciitis) were holding up. It had been almost 3 weeks since I completely stopped running.

I got up early Saturday morning and went for a run. I wanted to run at least 1.5 miles or so, hoping though that I could run up to 3 miles. But I realized that my feet and legs were fine other than a very mild sensation of discomfort in my right foot.

4.5 miles.

I really took it easy. No pressure.

And I even had fun making frequent stops to take photos of flowers.

And then I went SUPing.

I was free of lower back pain and shin splint. Of course, based on the mild sensation of discomfort, the foot injury (plantar fasciitis) is still healing, and that is okay. The recovery can be slow, but it is healing. That’s all that matters.

And cycling.

I will slowly add short runs each week while monitoring whether or not the pain in the foot returns. I may not be recovered enough to run the Ventura Marathon or the Long Beach in early October in time, but I’d rather take time to heal completely.

How is your Labor Day weekend training going? The summer is almost over, and the days are getting shorter. How’s your daily running going?

Subscribe if you haven’t already. Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/recovery-week-3-pulled-muscle-muscle-relaxant-pain-medication-and-4-5-mile-recovery-run-and-cycling-class-on-labor-day-weekend/feed/6sunrise 1hpeterjiphotographyNaproxen, Baclofen, medication, prescribed drug, prescrition, pharmacy, pain killer, muscle relaxant, muscle relaxer, pain reducersunrise, saturday, run, recovery run,recovery run, 4.5 miles, training, recovery, healing, run, slow, take it easy,rose, flower, saturday, run, recovery run,cycling, recovery, cardio, sundayRecovery – Healthy Breakfast with Avocados and Continuous Home Remedies on Plantar Fasciitishttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/recovery-week-2-and-healthy-breakfast-with-avocados/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/recovery-week-2-and-healthy-breakfast-with-avocados/#respondSun, 30 Aug 2015 21:31:47 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1978Second week of recovery. While working on my cardio in cycling class, I’ve decided to revisit my diet as well. It isn’t a drastic overhaul of my diet yet, but it surely is the beginning. This is something that I am going to do more research of and evaluate in the weeks to come as I am slowly recovering from my foot injury.

I’ve decided to change it up a little bit.

First things first. The breakfast. Since avocados are in season, I’ve decided to take advantage of that to the fullest. Along with the usual suspects – coffee, orange juice and Greek yogurt, I’ve added my favorite Havarti cheese to sourdough bread (cheese melt!) that I adopted for the carbo-loading meal plan and laid wedges of avocados on top. They are just perfect.

And nectarines are also in season, so I’ve added them to Greek yogurt along with bananas. I don’t necessarily want to have it this way all the time, but whenever bananas and other fruits are available, I slice them up and toss them in the couple of scoops of Greek yogurt. My favorite is Oikos Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt.

I must say that this is inexpensive. I watch what I spend, and I pick fruits that are only in season, which makes them cheaper. Also, it is quite cheaper too when you buy plain one in a large container – Oikos Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt.

Orange juice – 8 oz – 110 calories

Sourdough bread – 1 slice (45g) – 110 calories

Avocado – 146g – 234 calories

Banana – 110g – 100 calories

Havarti cheese – 1 slice (22g) – 90 calories

Greek yogurt – 115g – 70 calories

Coffee – 8 oz – 1 calories

Total: 715 calories

I hit the gym again and peddled as hard as I could. As usual, I drank water out of my favorite foldable Vapur Element Bottle.

The company that I work for moved past week. Thursday to be exact, and since I oversaw the move, it was rather hectic especially when it involved a lot of packing and organizing cartons, equipment and furniture. Because of that reason, I decided to take it easy on the physical training past week – keeping up with my cardio plan (cycling classes 4 times a week). So, it was great to be back on the saddle and peddle for over an hour (over 21 miles again) to sweat like crazy and burn more than 450 calories yesterday. I needed that.

Here’s the progress report on my injuries.

Shin splint

My shin splint in my left leg seems to have subsided a bit that I do not feel any discomfort when I walk up or down stairs. I’ll keep monitoring as to how I further feel about it.

Not being able to run isn’t something that I can easily deal with especially when my dream is to run Boston. But priorities change as anything else in life, and right now the recovery is the most important thing. My love for hiking and backpacking also needs functioning feet.

Along with that, I’d like to lead a much healthier, uplifted and energetic life.

Do you have a specific meal plan in place? Are you thinking of changing your diet? How many calories do you take in to maintain your training?

Subscribe if you already haven’t. Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/recovery-week-2-and-healthy-breakfast-with-avocados/feed/0Cycling cycling classhpeterjiphotographybreakfast, 750 calories, calories, avocado, banana, sourdough bread, havarti cheese,breakfast, fruit yogurt, greek yogurt, yogurt, fruits, banana, nectarine, healthy, yummycycling class, cycling, gym, cardio, sweat,Recovery – Kinesiology Tape, Compression Sock and Night Splinthttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/recovery-progress-week-1/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/recovery-progress-week-1/#commentsSun, 23 Aug 2015 23:19:00 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1919After the injury plagued debacle followed by the emotionally disappointing and yet self-assured smart decision of suspending the training last weekend, I took the early part of the week completely off to see how my feet were doing. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t do anything in terms of getting this recovery progressing.

In fact, a couple of items that I purchased arrived in the mail, and it turned out that quite a pleasant surprise exceeded my expectations in terms of home remedy. Now I am quite looking forward to the full recovery of my right foot from plantar fasciitis and left leg from shin splint.

A setup before going to work – Kinesiology tape on my left leg and compression sock on my right foot

And I also ordered this United Surgical Adjustable Night Splint from Amazon. It is the most customer approved item, so choosing it was easy. I tend to value customers’ reviews to find out about what’s liked and what’s not, and it appeared that most of those who bought it were not disappointed by it. Of course, I can’t say I didn’t have doubts.

I put it on the first night when I went to bed, and it sort of kept me half awake because whenever I tossed and turned, I remembered that it was on my right foot and leg. And it wasn’t something that I got immediately used to. I am now after a few days, but I will not completely forget that it is there.

So, what is the conclusion?

It works!

The pain that had lingered every morning for the last 7 months or so was gone. I had no pain whatsoever next morning when I woke up and put the weight on my very foot as getting off the bed. As though it was completely healed!

Of course, it was not, and the mild pinching pain came and went throughout the day when I walked. But, one thing is certain – I did not limp!

It doesn’t show how many calories that I actually burned because WATTS interchanges with KCAL for viewing, and I missed the moment to capture. The distance was over 21 miles and the time was 62 minutes. For the gear, we switched it up and down between 10 and 20 at the RPM of between 60 and 120.

Meantime, I’ve turned to cycling to keep my cardio up during this recovery time. I tried swimming last time, but I didn’t think I benefited much from it then.

And I actually quite enjoyed the cycling class. A lot of huffing and puffing and sweating. A little bit like StairMaster (for huffing and puffing and sweating), but it involves pedaling.

I’m planning to attend the cycling class 4 times a week, 3 times during weekdays (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and 1 time on Saturdays. I believe it’ll help keep up the cardio level that I must sustain while taking a break from actual running and also increase overall strength.

Frankly, I am thinking of incorporate this cycling workouts into the post-recovery/next training. I can’t wait.

One of my favorite leg workouts – linear leg press

Also, I’ve decided to work on my core and legs more frequently to build strength. It was something that I didn’t handle as diligently as I should’ve toward the end of my training, but I am taking this down time opportunity very seriously.

Once I was done with leg press, I did lunges and squats.

I am also planning to add dead lift and squat with weights soon.

My core workouts consist of the usual suspects – planks, push-ups and crunches. Each workout gives enough muscle building to strengthen my core as well as shoulders, chest and upper arms.

So far, I am taking this down time very positively. If you think about it, there’s nothing that I can do about what already happened. So, I only focus on what I can control. And that is my recovery.

I just hope that both plantar fasciitis and shin splint go away soon. But I will make sure that there’s no recurrence. I think that that is more important.

How did you cope with injuries? Did the night splints work for you when you tried them on? How long did it take for you to beat it completely?

Don’t forget to subscribe if you already haven’t. Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/recovery-progress-week-1/feed/1compression sock and running tapehpeterjiphotographycompression sock and running tape 2adjustnightsplintlrgcycling class, cardio workout, leg workout, morning, gym, class, cycling, leg workout, linear leg press, Week 19: Suspending My Training, Shin Splints and Plantar Fasciitishttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/week-19-suspending-my-training-shin-splints-and-plantar-fasciitis/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/week-19-suspending-my-training-shin-splints-and-plantar-fasciitis/#commentsTue, 18 Aug 2015 00:01:02 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1870So, the time has come. The time when I need to make a decision whether or not I am going to continue with my participation in the Santa Rosa Marathon. Basically, things have not gotten any better, if not worsened, and I believe that it is time to assess the current situation and decide what I am going to do for the better.

Week Countdown

Week

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

Sun

Total Amount

Week 19

8/10 – 8/16

Rest

4

3

5

5

3

10

30

4.27

3.51

5.11

3.52

4.04

3.51

23.96

Pace

7:11

7:19

7:14

7:20

7:55

7:22

Time

30:38

25:42

36:58

25:49

32:00

25:52

Elev Gain

78 ft

52 ft

84 ft

59 ft

0 ft

49 ft

I have not talked about my injuries much lately, other than the discomfort in my left leg, but I think it is time to address it and decide what I am going to do about it. As much as I would like to forget about it and pretend that nothing’s bothering me, the reality is that my performance has suffered from them. So, here they are.

Shin Splints in my left leg

It started happening soon after I ran the Ventura Marathon training run just over 2 weeks ago. It’s gotten worse over the period of 2 weeks, and it hurts even when I just walk. Not all the time, but it does hurt when the weight is put on.

When I run, I can feel it constantly. It bothers me quite a bit some times, and then it sort of subsides for a short period but eventually comes back. I expressed a concern about this on my Facebook page, and a friend of mine recommended compression socks – Acel Performance and Recovery Graduated Compression Socks, which I placed an order on Amazon immediately.

It arrived yesterday (Sunday, thanks to Amazon Prime – 30-day free trial), and I put them on this morning and monitored the level of discomfort while running. At first, I didn’t feel that the socks were working. At least till probably just over 2 miles in. But soon I noticed that the discomfort was slightly subsided. However, I am not 100% sure if it was the socks. I will have to keep monitoring.

Plantar Fasciitis in my right foot

This injury is something that I am very familiar with. I had it in my left foot before, and it healed quite quickly last time. I suspected that it was definitely light inflammation than a tear, which resulted in a fast recovery. However, with it in my right foot, I am not so lucky this time around.

I first felt it toward the end of the Surf City Marathon back in February, and ever since it’s gotten worse. All the symptoms that you’re familiar with when it comes to Plantar Fasciitis, I have them.

As painful as it has been every morning when I wake up and put my weight on my right foot to get off my bed and walk over to the kitchen (to make coffee), I have been tremendously resilient about it by numbing it out while running.

And it worked. Till the Ventura Marathon training run, that is.

As bad as it was by starting out too fast and getting myself extremely dehydrated and exhausted by Mile 16 mile that day, I realized that the frequent stops that I made at all the water stations in fact made my injury worse. Basically, it proved that numbing it out had its limit. And more frequently I stopped, more pain I felt.

And I eventually reached a point where I could no longer run with such pain. It had happened before once. And it happened during and after the training run.

What happens now

My motivation level is extremely low now. I just simply can’t get all the toxic thoughts out of my head that I won’t able to complete a marathon. I mean, at the BQ pace.

And I was hoping to see a positive sign while running this morning. However, instead of 10 miles that I planned to run, I quit it after just over 4 miles.

So, I am standing at a juncture where I have to make a decision that would benefit me in the long run.

Shall I still go to Santa Rosa and run the race? Or shall I skip it?

As disappointing as it is, while pondering about this, I do not wish to put myself in a place where I have to spend any more time than necessary for recovery. And simply, like any runner would, I just would like to run injury free.

In Retrospect

What caused it all?

I asked myself that… and the answer was rather quite simple.

Too much too soon.

Probably I already realized that I was not ready when I was not able to keep up with the program for the 20 miler in Week 11.

Once again, I have to clarify – I CAN run a marathon. I just can’t run a marathon in a BQ time – 3 hours and 15 minutes, or 7:26 mi/min pace, regrettably.

It was only just over a year ago (August 4, 2014, to be exact) when I decided to run to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I increased the monthly mileage from 25.6 miles in July to 110.75 miles in August. That’s not smart. No wonder why I ended up injuring myself in the following couple of months and had to sit out on the Long Beach Marathon in October.

Too much too soon.

In spite of my previous marathon running experience.

Bottom line

The question is if I want to run a race even when I know that I am suffering from both injuries.

And the answer is;

No.

I am disappointed but at the same time I do not want to be hard on myself like last time when plantar fasciitis in my left foot prevented me from running the Long Beach Marathon last year like I noted above.

I am just accepting the fact that I am not ready for BQ at the moment. I do not have to beat myself up for this, and I am temporarily put my dream of running the Boston Marathon on hold. Till the injuries go away, that is.

It marks another major setback, but I will use it as a recovery time to heal better and run better when training.

How did you handle your setbacks? How did you treat your shin splints? How about plantar fasciitis?

Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/week-19-suspending-my-training-shin-splints-and-plantar-fasciitis/feed/5view 2hpeterjiphotographyshin splints, compression socks, acel, acel compression socks, amazon, prime, amazon prime, comrepss, August 2014Week 18: Hill Running, Recovery and Taperinghttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/week-18-hill-running-recovery-and-tapering/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/week-18-hill-running-recovery-and-tapering/#commentsMon, 10 Aug 2015 01:19:49 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1841Since last Sunday’s Ventura Marathon training run, I feel more relaxed and less anxious about the upcoming races, which is a great thing. However, the training run was so taxing on my body, this whole week was sort of spent on recovery, which is still continuing, in fact. It took almost 2 days for my legs to function normally. Now that the Santa Rosa Marathon is only 2 weeks away, it is time to concentrate on tapering.

But then again, there’s a joke that the reason why we, marathoners, keep signing up for upcoming races is because we keep forgetting how painful it was in 3 to 4 months of time. Maybe there’s some truth in that.

I knew that the training run took quite a bit of toll on my legs and my body when it was over, and it took literally almost 2 full days of resting before my legs started functioning normally. I literally limped everywhere, and those comments from coworkers that I looked funny when walking were rather comforting, I would say.

By Tuesday evening when I felt like I could go for an easy run, that’s what I did. Just over 3 miles. However, the pace was out of whack. My shins were in discomfort and my calves were not enjoying the run. So, I took it easy.

And it just came to me that I should have fun even while training. So, instead of 5 miles of fartlek training, I did trail running on hills. It was great in that I was not thinking about running faster pace. It was just a different pace, a different elevation and different surroundings to appreciate.

I was hoping to do another long run, about 18-20 miles, today (Sunday), but I guess it wasn’t necessarily meant to be. I woke up at 3:15 am, had breakfast, and took a nap before getting up at 5 am.

I thought I set the alarm.

But it was 6 something when I opened my eyes. Ugh…

So, I changed my mind to run later. In the evening.

And then, the sun disappeared in the morning and it got overcast.

So, I changed my mind again that it was time to hit the pavement.

I am glad that I did that although the sun came out at around the 9 mile mark. Thanks to the breeze that never subsided, the sun didn’t bother me much. And most of all, I kept the pace at between 7:15 and 7:20 although there were moments where I just couldn’t, meaning my legs were not recovered enough. It was so clear to me that I just couldn’t kept the pace in this condition after the 11 mile mark.

More recovery will follow.

And time to taper.

Toward the end of the run, I ran into the mob of people on their bicycles. I don’t usually follow such events, but it is one of the annual ride a bicycle to the beach festivals called CicLAvia. It takes place in different parts of LA throughout the year, and they were biking through my neighborhood today. It did go through my area 2 years ago. Then it was literally 500 yards away from my place.

Bicyclists were heading to Venice Beach on Washington Blvd.

It actually occurred to me that it would have been fun to run with these bicyclists as an out and back run, turning a boring run into a spectacle with bicyclists’ fanfare.

The distance from my place to Venice Beach is 5 miles, and I could’ve easily turn this into a 12 mile run, which I have done in the past.

Maybe next time.

I’ll focus on my legs’ full recovery this week while tapering. Now that I’ve got only 2 weeks left till the race day, I do not see the point in trying to run long miles as my legs still need to rest up and get ready for the long hours of endurance on the race day.

How is your training going? Did you run any race today? How did it go? Are you running the Santa Rosa Marathon in 2 weeks? Are you ready?

Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/week-18-hill-running-recovery-and-tapering/feed/9View of DTLA from Culver City Lookouthpeterjiphotographyview 3my new Ascis Kayano 21 shoesCicLAvia, LA Bike day event, road closures, Venice Beach, gorgeous day to ride a bicycleCicLAvia, LA Bike day event, road closures, Venice Beach, gorgeous day to ride a bicycleWeek 17: Lesson That Ventura Marathon Training Run Taught Mehttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/week-17-lesson-that-ventura-marathon-training-run-taught-me/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/week-17-lesson-that-ventura-marathon-training-run-taught-me/#commentsMon, 03 Aug 2015 03:11:05 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1805It wasn’t a week with a lot of miles because it was part of tapering weeks. But the Ventura Marathon was holding a couple of training runs before the race, and I decided to give it a try this weekend. Today’s training run for me was only 18 mile long, which is a bit shorter than what I initially hoped to cover, but it also was a good learning lesson in terms of pacing myself.

Week Countdown

Week

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

Sun

Total Amount

Week 17

7/27 – 8/2

Rest

3

3

5

Rest

3

26

40

3.51

1.73

5.01

3.51

18.06

34.08

1.19

1.07

Pace

6:59

6:01

7:00

7:13

8:01, 24:43, 10:08

Time

24:31

10:23

35:01

25:17

2:24:53, 29:25, 10:51

Elev Gain

59 ft

16 ft

71 ft

50 ft

111 ft, 0 ft, 8 ft

6 x 880s (=1/2 miles) at 5K pace

I don’t know how other runners handle the pressure of qualifying the Boston Marathon and the training, including tapering, when they have two races lined up almost back to back.

The Santa Rosa Marathon is on 8/23 and the Vantura Marathon takes place 3 weeks later on 9/13. Although I have not run all the long milers (20, 22 and 24 milers), I’ve been following the rest of the training program as closely as I could. Of course, work got in the way a few times, but now I’m at the end of Week 17, and the program says it’s time to taper.

Then, I got an email earlier this week, regarding 2 Ventura Marathon free training runs – one on 8/2 (today) and the other 8/23. Of course, I can’t run the latter because it’s the same day that the Santa Rosa Marathon is held, but I thought I could give today’s run a try.

Especially, I was not familiar with the city at all, so it seemed that the training run was a great excuse to drive out there, find out about where to park, and where the start line is with no pressure, and such.

Pressure was not there. But certainly it was not the best run I’ve ever run.

I went out a little bit too fast, which ended up costing my performance toward the end.

Of course, there are many little things that I will have to improve in the next 3 weeks, but it turned out to be a good trial run, gaining the invaluable insight in terms of elevation and pacing myself accordingly.

All this time, I had completely fooled myself believing that I could just wing it.

And my new ASICS Gel-Kayano 21 Shoes arrived this week, so I put them on for today’s training run. They were as good as the last pair, which I retired earlier today. Its last run was 3.51 miles last Thursday.

Come to think of it, it didn’t even last full 3 months.

I was planning to wear them for another 100 miles after its initial lifespan of 400 miles, but since the discomfort that I experienced last weekend, I’ve decided that I would treat my foot, especially when both races are up coming up in a matter of few weeks.

It will be a good opportunity to do another oceanfront run before the Long Beach Marathon on 10/11, for which I signed up a long time ago, although it is only either 5K or 10K.

Of course, the Long Beach Marathon isn’t one of the Qualifiers at which I was aiming before the official Boston Marathon Registration opens in mid-September. And, even if I run in the qualifying time, it’ll be for the 2017 Boston Marathon.

But who knows? I may not make it at either Santa Rosa or Ventura this year. I can only do my best. And wait for the result.

Ventura Pier this morning

Based on today’s training run result, I realized that it is all about the experience and that it is very important to remember that. It has been very stressful in terms of training, and along the way, I got burned out (think about it. 25 weeks is a long time, and I have deferred all my hikes and backpacking trips for it) and lost what made me want to run in the first place.

It’s time to bring it back.

How was your weekend run? Have you done any training runs? Do you find them useful and also accurate in terms of your race pace?

Thanks for reading.

]]>https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/08/02/week-17-lesson-that-ventura-marathon-training-run-taught-me/feed/1Ventura Marathon Training Run 01hpeterjiphotographyVentura Marathon, Vantura Pier, Ventura Marathon free training run, Asics Kayano 21, Asics, Kayano, Asics Kayano 21, Asics, Kayano, over 400 miles, 431.6 miles, 15LaceUp_Logo_HorizontalIT5A0741-1024x683Ventura Marathon Training Run 04Week 16: Morning Runs and Carbo-Loading Meal Planhttps://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/week-16-morning-runs-and-carbo-loading-meal-plan/
https://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/week-16-morning-runs-and-carbo-loading-meal-plan/#commentsSun, 26 Jul 2015 21:30:09 +0000http://chroniclesofthescorpionthatbitorion.wordpress.com/?p=1780The past week went well in terms of racking in the anticipated amount of mileage. And also, I came across a Runner’s World carbo-loading meal plan (a few weeks prior to a marathon race), which I found quite different from my carbohydrate concentrated meals (mostly pasta). And I put it to the test for the weekend long run, and the results are… so far so good.

Week Countdown

Week

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

Sun

Total Amount

Week 16

7/20 – 7/26

Rest

6

4

8

6

4

12

40

6.51

3.47

4.01

7.23

3.52

10.63

40.01

0.85

3.79

Pace

6:58

6:42

7:06

6:51

7:06

7:19, 18:44, 7:34

Time

21:25

23:12

28:31

49:31

24:59

1:17:44, 15:54, 28:38

Elev Gain

194 ft

52 ft

54 ft

142 ft

57 ft

162 ft, 27 ft, 34 ft

This past week has been productive. I can’t say it was a perfect week, but it was close to what I hoped for. As you may have read in the last post, I was quite disappointed with myself in terms of training, and I felt like I hit the bottom. Of course, the work load got in the way. But it was part of the reason, not the entire reason.

And I really had to step up. So, I focused on consistency.

Once again, part of my plan was to run on Monday so that I can reserve that ‘rest day’ for the day before Sunday when I was going to give another try at a long run.

One of the Runner’s World articles that I came across this week was a carbo-loading meal plan. This meal plan is supposed to help a runner load him/herself with so much carbohydrates, aimed for carbs to take up 80-90% of one’s diet.

Following is a day worth of carbo-loading for a 150-pound runner, which works for me.

I like the fact that this doesn’t require too much prepping, and I actually put it to the test from last night. Because I was planning to run 20 miles, so I had spaghetti for lunch, and then had a chicken burrito with all the listed ingredients above. Also, when I woke up this morning, I had the breakfast listed above, along with coffee.

My stomach agrees with everything so far, and I will continue with the rest of the meal plan this week to see how it goes.

No cars on the road this early.

For this morning’s early long run, I tried to put myself in bed by 10:30 pm last night so that I could get up at 3:15 am. I didn’t have a problem getting up but my eyes were tired from lack of sleep. So, I decided to take a half hour nap after the breakfast, and I felt quite refreshed when I woke up.

Although eventually the sun came out early again (contrast to the weather forecast), I was able to start early at 6:24 am, and the sun stayed behind the clouds for quite some time, unlike last Sunday. I was not rushing nor feeling tired.

However, after 10 miles in, I felt this discomfort in the bottom of my right foot. I tried to shake it off by taking a break a couple of times, but it persisted. So, I decided to cut my run short although I was a bit disappointed.

Part of me still wanted to see how it feels after walking a little bit, and after 0.8 miles, actually it felt better. It was not completely gone, but the discomfort was mild enough that I could suffer through it by pounding the pavement hard that it becomes numb.

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

The sun was no longer interested in hide and seek and came out from behind the clouds and stayed out. It was on the warmer side, but to be honest, it was not as bad as last Sunday’s. Actually it was not even as warm as yesterday either.

To my surprise, I didn’t even finish half the bottle of Gatorade that I brought with me. But then again, I was very careful about using Clif Shot today. I watched very closely when to take the next one, and once I reached 6 miles, I had my first package (1.2 oz/34g), followed by the next at the 9 mile mark. I wanted to stay on top of it to avoid any kind of dehydration and muscle fatigue.

About 14.5 miles, excluding the short walk, for today, and I think it was not too bad. I think that the endurance level hasn’t changed.

Injury is the worst thing that can happen during training as well as on the race day. I rather take it easy on it today so that I can run better tomorrow.

Speaking of endurance, the lifespan of my Asics Kayano 21’s has reached the end. I was planning to run in them for another 100 miles or so, like I did with the last pair, but today’s discomfort in my right foot changed my mind. I am going to place an order for a new pair shortly.

How was your week? How did your weekend long run go? How do you prepare your meals, specifically carbo-loading, before a race? Have you tired such a meal menu list above? Did it work for you?